740A.5 MSP/6–2453
No. 718
Memorandum by the Officer in Charge of
United Kingdom and Ireland Affairs (Beale) to the
Deputy Director of the Office of British Commonwealth and Northern
European Affairs (Foster)
- Subject: Agreements currently under negotiation: Ireland
The Irish Government recently submitted to the MSA a group of projects to be financed by utilizing the entire accumulation of pounds 6.14M (U.S. $17.2 million) of local currency counterpart.
Assistance to Ireland under ECA took the form of grants and loans. All assistance to Ireland was terminated in January 1952 because the Irish Government refused to sign the amended bilateral agreement required by the MSA of 1952.
The legislation governing Mutual Security Assistance requires Congressional approval for the use of any unencumbered counterpart which had not been released prior to termination of aid. The Irish situation presents the first instance of this kind.
After NAC consultation on the counterpart release projects is completed, MSA and the Department plan to instruct the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland to negotiate an agreement with the Irish Government stating the proposed purposes of the counterpart utilization. This agreement will be presented to the Congress as part of proposed legislation approving the general purposes of the projects: the passage of a Joint Resolution will permit the MSA to release the counterpart to the Irish Government.
It is recommended that the above agreement be included in the list of Executive Agreements for which specific approval is required under Departmental Circular no. 25.1
- The Mutual Security Agreement between the United States and Ireland concerning Disposition of the Balance in the Counterpart Special Account was finally signed at Dublin June 17, 1954, and entered into force Feb. 16, 1955. For text, see 6 UST (pt. 1), p. 571.↩